In this activity you will be looking at different types of presentations and how presentations change depending on their purpose and what the presenter is trying to achieve. Presentations
We see them all the time. Every time you turn on your TV and see a commercial, watch a comedian, or a listen to a news program; you are experiencing a presentation. Indeed, every time you tell a joke, ask your friends to accompany you to a movie or restaurant; you are delivering a presentation.
So what exactly is a "presentation" and why is this important for the workplace?
The Purpose of a Presentation
A presentation is the process through which you deliver, or present, content to a specific audience. Presentations come in many different forms. The type of presentation delivered depends on the audience and what you wish to achieve from this presentation. For example, in the business world there are many different types of presentations: sales presentations, informational and motivational presentations, interviews, reports, and lots of training presentations.
But, in order to understand and create a presentation, you must first understand the purpose of a presentation. The following is a list of the three purposes for the creation of presentations. Please click on each presentation purpose and add these definitions to your student glossary.
There are three basic purposes for creating an oral presentation:
To inform - also know as an expository presentation.
To persuade - also known as a persuasive presentation.
Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences with presentations. Create a new entry in your LearningJournal for Unit 3. Briefly describe an experience you have had presenting a topic or idea. This could be an experience you have had in school (e.g. a speech or group presentation) or outside of school (e.g. persuading a friend to tag along to a movie you really wanted to see). What was your goal for that presentation (e.g. having some company at the movie theatre)? Create a short reflection about how your audience received the presentation and how you felt delivering the presentation.
Assignment 2- Understanding Presentations
One way to understand how presentations are used to communicate to an audience is to look at some example presentations from the point of view of the presenter. This is called deconstructing a presentation.
Deconstructing - Pulling apart a larger work into its smaller elements so you can see how it works.
In order to understand how to 'deconstruct' a presentation, you are going to search for a presentation that you find interesting and complete a Presentation Analysis Chart as practice. This chart will help you deconstruct the presentation into smaller elements such the purpose of the presenter, the type of audience the presentation is targeting and type of presentation.
The following website is an example of a web-based resource that you may find useful for this assignment: The Art of Speaking
Please click on Presentation Analysis Chart . Complete the chart and post the the Portfolio section of your blog.
Activity 2
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
Topic
Brainstorming
Chunking Ideas
In this Activity we will explore some presentations in order to discover the secrets to successful presentations.
Photo of subway stop with billboards and a train approaching.
Billboards are designed to grab our attention and deliver a clear message to an audience quickly.
Photo credit: C.Panico.
How long will you watch a commercial or view an advertisement in a newspaper before you flip the channel or turn the page? What does a commercial need to do in order to hold your interest?
In the workplace, how would you keep the attention of customers or employees in order to deliver a presentation? More importantly, once you have the attention of an audience, what will you do to achieve the purpose of your presentation?
In this next activity we are going to focus on what makes a good presentation. In order to do this, try to remember some presentations you feel are interesting. Take a moment to review the presentation chart assignment from activity one.
Assignment 3: Journal - The Art of Selling
The purpose of an ad is generally to promote a brand or sell a product. Check out some T.V. commercials or advertisements and see how successful they are at achieving the purpose of the presentations. Note that some commercials do not directly try to sell a product. When viewing the ad try to discover the purpose of the commercial, for example, is it lifestyle promotion, brand promotion, etc. Select a commercial and write a blog/journal entry describing the commercial. In your journal entry, discuss whether on not the commercial was successful and why.
There are several resources you may use to find examples of commercials, but here's a website to help you get started: Interesting Car Commercials; Award Winning Cable T.V. Commercials
Brainstorming
We are going to use a brainstorming technique in order to create a list describing what makes a presentation successful. Please click on each step to the brainstorming process and add these definitions to your student glossary. This brainstorming process has three parts:
Complete the following assignment and submit your work to your teacher.
Make sure you complete Part A, B and C of the assignment before you submit your work to your teacher.
Have you ever experienced a really good speech? If a speech is very successful it is usually followed with applause - the more successful, the louder the applause. When we experience a presentation that is really good we automatically respond. What is it about a good presentation that creates a strong response in an audience?
In order to uncover what makes a presentation successful, you are going to use the brainstorming process to help generate your ideas. The goal of this brainstorming process is to create a checklist of characteristics that make a great presentation.
Assignment 5
Review Part C of the Brainstorming Assignment. You should have about five or six characteristics of a successful presentation. We are now going to bring together the most important ideas and create a list of characteristics of a successful presentation. If your ideas have several parts, you may want to simplify and rewrite the ideas into a single term. Please click Chunking Ideas to see an example of how to 'chunk' ideas.
Be prepared to share and discuss your presentation checklist with your teacher and peers during a class or group discussion. Have a look at the checklists created by your fellow students and make some comments about other checklists during the class discussion. You may want to make comment on similar characteristics; make some suggestions; ask some questions; or rewrite some of your own characteristics of a successful presentation. Don't forget to complete and submit Part B of your Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist assignment following the class discussion.
Following the class discussion about the characteristics of a successful presentation, complete Part B of your Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist assignment.
Complete Part B of the presentation checklist and submit your work to your teacher
Activity 3
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
Orator
Gesture
Structure
It's not what you say - it's HOW you say it.
You don't need to be born with a loudspeaker attached to your mouth to deliver a great speech. Some of the best orators were not natural presenters. Being nervous, shy, or having a lisp will not get in the way of presenting a good speech. You too can be a brilliant presenter - you just need to know how to present your information effectively. The key to a good speech is careful preparation; the more thoroughly prepared you are, the better you will present!
Did you know ?
Winston Churchill, one of the best orators in the English language, had a lisp and was quite nervous when he presented his famous speeches. Research by doing a search on Winston Churchill to find out more. Here's a website to help you get started, click on Winston Churchill.
The Three Factors
There are three important factors to consider when planning a presentation:
1. Purpose and Audience
Before you begin developing a presentation, you must ask yourself two essential questions: What is the purpose of the presentation? Know your purpose:
Do you want to inform, entertain, or motivate your audience?
Be very clear about your key message or your purpose.
What do you want your audience to do, feel, or learn as a result of your presentation?
You should be able to state the purpose of your presentation in a phrase or sentence.
Review the three basic purposes of a presentation that you investigated in activity 1 by clicking on the following links:
You can also look in your student glossary for these definitions.
Who is my audience? Know your audience:
What is the age and what are the interests of your audience?
What is the reason the audience is present to hear your presentation?
Make sure you use appropriate words that fit your audience. If your audience does not understand your language, you will not be able to achieve your purpose. On the other hand, if language is too simple, you may bore your audience.
Key Questions for Purpose and Audience
Is the purpose of the presentation clear?
Is the language of the presentation clear and appropriate to the audience?
Is the importance and relevancy of the topic explained to the audience?
2. Organize Your Presentation
The Introduction: The Body: The Conclusion: Key Questions for Organization
Does the presentation have an attention getting introduction?
Does the presentation provide examples, definition, and research to support the main point?
Is the conclusion interesting and does it tie together the main points of the presentation?
3. Practice Makes Perfect
Practice Correctly: Incorporate Gestures: Project your Voice: Key Questions for Practice
Does the presentation meet the time requirements?
Does the presentation flow smoothly or does it appear thrown together?
Does the presenter interact with the audience and make eye contact?
Assignment 7- Evaluate a Presentation
In this assignment, you will play the role of the teacher. You are going to review several presentations using the checklist, Characteristics of a Successful Presentation.
First select two presentations from the presentation list below. It is recommended that you select one video presentation and one of the presentations that have been transferred to print. Your teacher may also have some other presentations that you will be able to examine. Carefully read or view the presentations and decide which presentation you prefer. Select one presentation and use your checklist to observe the characteristics of this presentation. Make some specific notes about what you feel was really successful and what you feel could do with some improvement.
Complete the presentation checklist for one presentation. Make sure you complete all columns of the checklist including the Examples and Observations columns. Submit your work to your teacher. Before you submit your work to your teacher, ensure that your name appears on the top of every page of your checklist and ensure that you have a copy of this assignment.
Assignment 8 - Presentation Review
Journal - Presentation Review
Once you have completed your checklist and notes, make a judgement about the level of success you feel has been achieved by the presentation. Assign a specific level out of four to the presentation with level 4 being the most successful. Next, you are going to take your observations about the level of success achieved by the presentation and describe your conclusions in a journal/blog entry. Make sure you justify your assessment of the presentation with examples and evidence.
Some questions to consider as you write your journal/blog entry are:
Why have you assigned this presentation that specific level? Cite some specific reasons for your evaluation.
Which characteristic of a successful presentation to you feel was the most effective in the presentation? How could you use this strategy in you own presentations?
What would you say to the presenter (advice, comments, complements...)?
Don't forget to give your journal/blog entry the title, "Unit 4 Presentation Review".
Activity 4
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
Value
Simile
Metaphor
Proving your point in a presentation is essential to achieving your purpose. In this activity, we will examine several different types of support you can use in a presentation to effectively convey your purpose or message to your intended audience. These types of support will be particularly helpful to you when you create your own persuasive speech in the next activity.
It's not what you say - it's HOW you say it.
Let's say you want to persuade a manager at your job that having a staff gambling night is not an acceptable option for a staff party. How successful would it be if you charged into an office and demanded a removal of the staff party?
Chances are you would probably upset your manager and the purpose of your presentation; to stop people from gambling, would seem unreasonable or unclear.
On the other hand, if you casually suggested some alternatives to a gambling night and explained a couple of reasons you felt gambling would be counter productive to creating positive staff interactions; chances are your presentation would be received favourably!
In other words, in order for a presentation to be successful you need to carefully consider how you are going to persuade your audience. You would need to provide some reasons or evidence to support your points and help your audience see your point of view. The best speeches tell the audience things they don't know. It is important to use a variety of support in a presentation in order to keep the attention of your audience and give them multiple opportunities to agree with you. What follows are different types of support you can use to help you to persuade your audience.
Type of Support
Example
Facts
Facts are true statements that cannot be refuted. A fact is something that actually exists, or something that can be verified.
"1/4 of the bones in your body, are in your feet."
Facts are useful in a presentation as they offer specific evidence on a topic that cannot be argued. Be careful though to avoid using too many facts or only a list of facts as this will make your presentation boring and you could lose the attention of an audience.
Type of Support
Example
Opinions
An opinion is your ideas and thoughts about something. Opinions are based on value decisions (what you believe in), not proven facts. An opinion becomes a fact once the opinion is proven or verified.
"Gambling is horrible." Whether this is true or not will depend on a person's personal perspective. For example, someone who has gone bankrupt from gambling might be of the point of view that gambling is horrible whereas a charitable organization that receives funds from provincial gambling profits may not share the same point of view.
The use of opinions in a presentation can be a great way to make a connection with your audience. In order to use an opinion as a successful support for a presentation, you need to know your audience, specifically their values or beliefs, and whether your opinion would be positively accepted.
Type of Support
Example
Comparisons
Compares the similarities or differences between items, topics, or points.
"Creating a good presentation is like preparing a meal; it takes the right recipe, ingredients and hard work."
Comparisons can clarify your position in a presentation and allow an audience to further understand your point. Comparing an unfamiliar idea or concept with something more familiar might help your audience to see your point. Consider the use of striking images in the form of metaphors or similes. Be careful though not to use too many comparisons or you could confuse your audience about your topic.
Type of Support
Example
Examples
An example is a specific instance or piece of evidence.
"In order to help people understand what a cat is, I bring in my pet cat, Shadow." This is a specific instance of a cat. This cat does not represent all types or breeds of cats, but it is a specific example or piece of evidence.
Examples do not prove a point, but they suggest reasons why a point is valid. Examples provide real life applications of ideas and can help an audience see the importance of your point. Choose examples carefully as you don't want to confuse your audience or distract them from the purpose of the presentation.
Type of Support
Example
Statistics
Percentages and numbers used to interpret and understand information (quantitative data).
"The profits from gambling in Canada in 2005 totalled 14 billion dollars." From Gambling In Canada 2005: Statistics and Context
Well-chosen statistics can add credibility to your presentation. Remember, statistics are not facts, as they need to be interpreted in order to be useful as support. Statistics can be interpreted in different ways, so make sure you understand them and are ready to provide your audience with the source of the information. Similar to facts, don't overuse statistics or you will risk boring your audience.
Check this out!
Do a quick search for interesting statistics. You'll be quite surprised with some of the results. There are several resources you may use to find interesting statistics, but here's a website to help you get started : Interesting Statistics.
Complete the following chart and post to the Portfolio section of your blog.
Activity 5 - Culminating
Define the following term in the Glossary section of your blog
Issue
An Opinion Statement.
In the workplace there are lots of situations where you will need to make a choice and state why you have made that choice. Anything from the time you take your lunch break to the type of uniform you will wear will require you to state a position.
Similar to a situation in the workplace, you will be asked to convince your teacher about the validity of your opinion on an issue. For this reason, your presentation for this activity will take the form of a persuasive speech. Click on Persuasive speech to review the purpose of a persuasive presentation. Review the persuasive presentation definition you added to your glossary in activity 1 of this unit.
One of the first things you need to do in order to create a presentation is decide on an issue you find interesting. Secondly, discover how you feel about this issue and create a strong opinion statement.
Selecting an Issue
Please read over and select one of the issues listed below. Once you have selected an issue, select either should or should not in order to create an opinion statement. This sentence will now be the guiding purpose of your presentation.
Example
Let's say you were presented with the statement, "fighting should/ should not be allowed in hockey" and you select "should not". This means that the purpose of your presentation will be to persuade an audience that fighting should not be allowed in hockey.
In order to help visualize the presentation, as you read these statements imagine that you were asked by a fellow worker to present your opinion on one of these situations to a manger.
Statements
Select should or should not for one of these statements.
Example Scenarios
Here are some possible workplace scenarios.
1. Hiring practices should/ should not be affected by the appearance of the applicant.
A manager is hesitant to hire a person with tattoos or a large body size for a sales position.
2. Employees should/ should not be allowed to wear casual clothes on Fridays.
A manager mentions that employee dress is becoming too casual on Fridays.
3. Christmas carols should / should not be allowed in the workplace.
An employee is not Christian and Christmas carols are being sung at staff meeting where attendance is mandatory.
4. Personal stereos should/ should not be allowed at work.
An employee would like to use an iPod while working at computer terminal.
5. All employees should/ should not be part of a worker's union.
Employees of a large department store want to be unionized, but the employer refuses to allow a worker's union.
6. The workplace should/ should not be a scent free environment.
An employee is concerned about the effect of perfume on fellow workers.
7. Hiring practices should/ should not include equal opportunity hiring.
The police force is considering hiring more police officers, but only from ethnic minority groups.
8. Language should/ should not be censored in the workplace.
An employee is concerned about the use of the term, "that's so gay" or other derogatory language.
9. Same sex partner should/ should not be allowed to have the same health benefits as straight couples.
A co-worker has a sick partner of the same sex, but the company health benefits can extend only to a spouse of the opposite sex.
10. Uniforms should /should not be mandatory in the workplace.
A manager suggests to staff at a meeting that the company have mandatory uniforms in the workplace.
Writing Your Speech
Creating a successful speech is not about reading your notes in front of a group of people; it is about communicating a message to your audience. Remember, your purpose is to try and persuade others to agree with your point of view. Check back on activity 3 to review the three main components of a presentation. Here are some helpful points that will help you write the three parts of your speech; the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
The Introduction
You may have a great solution to a problem or you may be able to help resolve an important issue, but first you need to get the attention of the audience. The only way you will get others to listen to your opinion is grab their attention and then clearly state your message. This is the function of the introduction.
Here are some things to consider when creating an introduction for your speech:
Introduction
Start with a good hook statement to get the attention of your audience. Try one of the following:
A short quotation, poem or saying that is related to your topic;
Be dramatic and start with a strong statement like, this presentation will change your life forever;
Pose a question that will involve your audience and lead you to your topic e.g., How many people here have gone to a casino? How many people lost their home to gambling debts?
The introduction also contains a clear statement about the purpose of your presentation. This is also known as a key message or theme. The theme statement also clarifies your position on an issue. Make sure everything in your presentation is supportive of your theme.
The introduction may also include an overview of the points you will use to persuade your audience.
The Body of the Presentation
This is the part of your presentation where you use proof to actually persuade your audience. You should use different types of support to prove your point such as facts, opinions, and comparisons. It is essential that you organize all of your support points so that your presentation is clear and your audience is not confused. The body of your speech should have a least three support points. Here are some suggestions for writing the body of your presentation:
Body
Start the writing process with a brainstorming technique to gather your ideas (we already did this earlier in this activity.
Use an outline to help organize your ideas and make sure that your ideas work well together. We will use an outline to organize the points of your persuasive speech.
Vary your word choice in order to avoid repetition and keep things interesting. Try a thesaurus!
Try using humour. Humour is a great way to relate to your audience, but try out your joke on a friend to make sure it is appropriate and funny.
Try describing events and feelings in detail. It is best to avoid telling your audience everything, instead try to show them what you mean with personal examples. Try to demonstrate how the problem affects others by using examples.
Research some interesting facts, statistics and other information that supports your theme.
The Conclusion
The conclusion is just as important as your introduction. The conclusion brings your persuasive speech to a close. This is where you restate your theme (in different words) and remind your audience of the purpose of your presentation. The conclusion ends the presentation in a way that prompts the audience to change their thinking or take a course of action. Here are some suggestions for writing a strong conclusion:
Conclusion
Keep the conclusion short. Sum up your support the body of your presentation in a few concise sentences.
Leave your audience with a witty line that relates to your theme, e.g. "Whatever we might be gaining from the abuse of animals, we are losing something far more important - compassion, honour, and decency." (Doncaster)
This is where you may appeal to your audience to act, e.g. "This is why I implore you to stop legalized gambling!"
Assignment 10 - Developing your Opinion
We are now going to use a brainstorming technique to help you develop your ideas in order to support your opinion statement.
Make sure you complete Part A, B and C of the assignment before you submit your work to your teacher. Keep a copy of the Brainstorming to Develop your Opinion assignment, as you will need this to complete your speech.
Assignment 11 - Creating an Outline for your Speech
Feel free to return to the content page to review terms. You may want to review type of support as you are writing the body of your speech. Click on Types of Support
Complete the outline and submit your work to your teacher. Keep a copy of the Persuasive Speech Outline assignment, as you will need this to write your speech. Don't forget to place name on every page you submit to your teacher.
Assignment 12 - Writing your Speech
Use your persuasive speech outline to write your speech in complete sentences. Return to the content page to review the tips for writing the speech. This is only the first draft of your speech so don't try to achieve perfection. The first draft is a great place to record all of your ideas without judgement. Don't worry about the details. Your goal here is to write quickly and creatively.
Once you have completed writing the first draft of your speech, submit your draft to your teacher.
Assignment 13 - Proofreading your Speech
Once you have completed writing your speech, it is necessary to proofread your speech. The best way to proofread a speech is to have another person look at your work. The following discussion will help you with the proofreading process.
Discussion
You will now have an opportunity to share your persuasive speech with another student in your class. Your teacher may place you in a group with one or more students before you begin the discussion. Have a look at the presentation(s) created by your fellow group member(s) and use the Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist you created in activity 2 to make some helpful comments. In return, your group partner(s) will do the same for your presentation. You must make at least four constructive comments about your partner's speech.
After you have proof read each other's work, read the suggestions made by your peers and make any changes you feel will enhance and improve your speech.
Try This - Making Constructive Comments
Making comments about the work of a colleague or friend can be tricky. On the one hand, you don't want to make comments that are too negative as we can all be sensitive about our own work; yet it is important to give people honest feedback in order to help them improve. Therefore, it is important to make sure your comments are constructive and helpful to your partner. You may want to comment on similarities between the speeches; make some suggestions; ask some questions; and make sure you also proofread your partner's speech for any errors in grammar and spelling. Here are some comment starters to help you when making comments about another person's work. Try beginning your comments with:
I really like...
I don't understand...
Try adding/ removing/ changing...
Try rephrasing...
Explain what you mean by, "(comment)"
Once your peers have proofread your speech, take a moment to review your speech and make any final changes you feel will enhance the speech. Don't forget to practise your speech and deliver the speech out loud in front of a mirror to ensure that this is the final speech you will submit.
Following the threaded discussion and the final check of your speech, submit a copy of your final speech to your teacher.
Make sure you also include a copy of the comments made by your partner(s) during the discussion. Keep a copy of your speech, as you will need this to complete the final assignment in this activity.
Assignment 14 - Delivering your Persuasive Speech
It is now time to deliver your speech in front of your classmate and teacher. But, before you present your speech, you must practice! Click on Practice to return to the content page of activity 3 in order to review tips on how to practice. When you feel you are ready and you have practised, present your persuasive speech to your class. Good luck!
Assignment 15
METACOGNITIVE JOURNAL
In this unit, you have had the opportunity to not only learn about presentations, but also create your own presentation in the form of a persuasive speech. It is now time to reflect on your experience working through this unit by creating a Metacognitive Journal entry. Click on Metacognitive Journal to review what you discussed in Unit 1.
Take a moment to reflect on the different strategies and process steps you have experienced in this unit. In this journal entry you are going to write a reflection, not only about what you have learned, but how you have learned it.
Some of the following questions may help you with this writing:
Which of the strategies and assignments did you find the most interesting, helpful or difficult? Why?
What were the important elements of the experience, event or issue?
Why did I feel comfortable using these strategies, steps or procedures as I did?
What did I learn?
What insights did I gain about my learning?
How or why was this significant for me?
What aspects of my practice or learning do I want to focus on?
Have my assumptions and perspectives about reading, writing, viewing and oral communication changed as a result of this experience? How?
How can I apply what I have learned to my life or future career?
Writing a Metacognitive Journal
Here are some tips for writing a reflective journal:
record your development and progress through a course
process your learning by focussing on particular readings, writings or issues and record your insights and questions
increase your self-awareness through the process of observing and clarifying perceptions, feelings and thoughts about your writing, reading, viewing and oral communication skills
evaluate your growth and change in your educational practices as a result of using new strategies, steps or procedures in your reading, writing, viewing and oral communication
gather documentation that you can critically reflect on and incorporate into your metacognitive journal
In your Metacognitive journal reflect on your Reading, Writing, Viewing and Oral Communication experience. Here are some questions to help you create this journal entry:
What reading, writing, viewing and oral communication strategies were already familiar to me?
What new strategies were introduced to me in terms of reading and viewing brochures and press releases?
What new strategies were introduced to me in terms of developing ideas and creating a presentation?
What task did you find the most interesting or helpful? Why?
What did you find difficult about this unit? Explain.
Do you feel more confident in terms of my understanding, appreciation and application of reading, writing, viewing and oral communication strategies?
How will these skills help me in other subjects and in the workplace?
Post the completed assignment in the Learning Journal section of your blog.
Activity 1: Types of Presentation
In this activity you will be looking at different types of presentations and how presentations change depending on their purpose and what the presenter is trying to achieve.
Presentations
We see them all the time. Every time you turn on your TV and see a commercial, watch a comedian, or a listen to a news program; you are experiencing a presentation. Indeed, every time you tell a joke, ask your friends to accompany you to a movie or restaurant; you are delivering a presentation.
So what exactly is a "presentation" and why is this important for the workplace?
The Purpose of a Presentation
A presentation is the process through which you deliver, or present, content to a specific audience. Presentations come in many different forms. The type of presentation delivered depends on the audience and what you wish to achieve from this presentation. For example, in the business world there are many different types of presentations: sales presentations, informational and motivational presentations, interviews, reports, and lots of training presentations.
But, in order to understand and create a presentation, you must first understand the purpose of a presentation. The following is a list of the three purposes for the creation of presentations. Please click on each presentation purpose and add these definitions to your student glossary.
There are three basic purposes for creating an oral presentation:
Assignment 1
Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences with presentations. Create a new entry in your Learning Journal for Unit 3. Briefly describe an experience you have had presenting a topic or idea. This could be an experience you have had in school (e.g. a speech or group presentation) or outside of school (e.g. persuading a friend to tag along to a movie you really wanted to see). What was your goal for that presentation (e.g. having some company at the movie theatre)? Create a short reflection about how your audience received the presentation and how you felt delivering the presentation.
Assignment 2- Understanding Presentations
One way to understand how presentations are used to communicate to an audience is to look at some example presentations from the point of view of the presenter. This is called deconstructing a presentation.
Deconstructing - Pulling apart a larger work into its smaller elements so you can see how it works.
In order to understand how to 'deconstruct' a presentation, you are going to search for a presentation that you find interesting and complete a Presentation Analysis Chart as practice. This chart will help you deconstruct the presentation into smaller elements such the purpose of the presenter, the type of audience the presentation is targeting and type of presentation.
The following website is an example of a web-based resource that you may find useful for this assignment:
The Art of Speaking
Please click on Presentation Analysis Chart . Complete the chart and post the the Portfolio section of your blog.
Activity 2
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
In this Activity we will explore some presentations in order to discover the secrets to successful presentations.
Billboards are designed to grab our attention and deliver a clear message to an audience quickly.
Photo credit: C.Panico.
In the workplace, how would you keep the attention of customers or employees in order to deliver a presentation? More importantly, once you have the attention of an audience, what will you do to achieve the purpose of your presentation?
Assignment 3: Journal - The Art of Selling
The purpose of an ad is generally to promote a brand or sell a product. Check out some T.V. commercials or advertisements and see how successful they are at achieving the purpose of the presentations. Note that some commercials do not directly try to sell a product. When viewing the ad try to discover the purpose of the commercial, for example, is it lifestyle promotion, brand promotion, etc. Select a commercial and write a blog/journal entry describing the commercial. In your journal entry, discuss whether on not the commercial was successful and why.There are several resources you may use to find examples of commercials, but here's a website to help you get started: Interesting Car Commercials; Award Winning Cable T.V. Commercials
Brainstorming
We are going to use a brainstorming technique in order to create a list describing what makes a presentation successful. Please click on each step to the brainstorming process and add these definitions to your student glossary. This brainstorming process has three parts:
Assignment 4
Please click on Brainstorming AssignmentComplete the following assignment and submit your work to your teacher.
Make sure you complete Part A, B and C of the assignment before you submit your work to your teacher.
Assignment 5
Review Part C of the Brainstorming Assignment. You should have about five or six characteristics of a successful presentation. We are now going to bring together the most important ideas and create a list of characteristics of a successful presentation. If your ideas have several parts, you may want to simplify and rewrite the ideas into a single term. Please click Chunking Ideas to see an example of how to 'chunk' ideas.Please click on Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist. Complete Part A of the presentation checklist and submit your work to your teacher.
Assignment 6
Discussion
Be prepared to share and discuss your presentation checklist with your teacher and peers during a class or group discussion. Have a look at the checklists created by your fellow students and make some comments about other checklists during the class discussion. You may want to make comment on similar characteristics; make some suggestions; ask some questions; or rewrite some of your own characteristics of a successful presentation. Don't forget to complete and submit Part B of your Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist assignment following the class discussion.Following the class discussion about the characteristics of a successful presentation, complete Part B of your Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist assignment.
Complete Part B of the presentation checklist and submit your work to your teacher
Activity 3
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
It's not what you say - it's HOW you say it.
Did you know ?
Winston Churchill, one of the best orators in the English language, had a lisp and was quite nervous when he presented his famous speeches. Research by doing a search on Winston Churchill to find out more. Here's a website to help you get started, click on Winston Churchill.
The Three Factors
There are three important factors to consider when planning a presentation:1. Purpose and Audience
Before you begin developing a presentation, you must ask yourself two essential questions:What is the purpose of the presentation?
Know your purpose:
Review the three basic purposes of a presentation that you investigated in activity 1 by clicking on the following links:
- the expository presentation
- the persuasive presentation
- the goodwill presentation
You can also look in your student glossary for these definitions.Who is my audience?
Know your audience:
Key Questions for Purpose and Audience
2. Organize Your Presentation
The Introduction:
The Body:
The Conclusion:
Key Questions for Organization
3. Practice Makes Perfect
Practice Correctly:
Incorporate Gestures:
Project your Voice:
Key Questions for Practice
Assignment 7- Evaluate a Presentation
Presentation List
- Print Media. Excerpt from, //"I Have A Dream"// by Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Print Media. //Principal's Address// at High School commencement.
- Print Media. //Vice Principal's Award Reception speech// by M. Phemister.
- Video. Winston Churchill's 1940 speech, //"Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat"//.
- Video. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 speech, //"I Have A Dream"//.
- Video. //1992 US Presidential Debate "Clinton vs. Bush"//.
- Audio. Martin Luther King, Jr. //Speaks out against the Vietnam War//.
Complete the presentation checklist for one presentation. Make sure you complete all columns of the checklist including the Examples and Observations columns. Submit your work to your teacher. Before you submit your work to your teacher, ensure that your name appears on the top of every page of your checklist and ensure that you have a copy of this assignment.Assignment 8 - Presentation Review
Once you have completed your checklist and notes, make a judgement about the level of success you feel has been achieved by the presentation. Assign a specific level out of four to the presentation with level 4 being the most successful. Next, you are going to take your observations about the level of success achieved by the presentation and describe your conclusions in a journal/blog entry. Make sure you justify your assessment of the presentation with examples and evidence.
Some questions to consider as you write your journal/blog entry are:
- Why have you assigned this presentation that specific level? Cite some specific reasons for your evaluation.
- Which characteristic of a successful presentation to you feel was the most effective in the presentation? How could you use this strategy in you own presentations?
- What would you say to the presenter (advice, comments, complements...)?
Don't forget to give your journal/blog entry the title, "Unit 4 Presentation Review".Activity 4
Define the following terms in the Glossary section of your blog.
Proving your point in a presentation is essential to achieving your purpose. In this activity, we will examine several different types of support you can use in a presentation to effectively convey your purpose or message to your intended audience. These types of support will be particularly helpful to you when you create your own persuasive speech in the next activity.
It's not what you say - it's HOW you say it.
Chances are you would probably upset your manager and the purpose of your presentation; to stop people from gambling, would seem unreasonable or unclear.
On the other hand, if you casually suggested some alternatives to a gambling night and explained a couple of reasons you felt gambling would be counter productive to creating positive staff interactions; chances are your presentation would be received favourably!
Facts are true statements that cannot be refuted. A fact is something that actually exists, or something that can be verified.
An opinion is your ideas and thoughts about something. Opinions are based on value decisions (what you believe in), not proven facts. An opinion becomes a fact once the opinion is proven or verified.
Compares the similarities or differences between items, topics, or points.
An example is a specific instance or piece of evidence.
Percentages and numbers used to interpret and understand information (quantitative data).
Check this out!
Do a quick search for interesting statistics. You'll be quite surprised with some of the results. There are several resources you may use to find interesting statistics, but here's a website to help you get started : Interesting Statistics.
Assignment 9 - Identifying Types of Support
Please click on Identifying Types of Support .
Complete the following chart and post to the Portfolio section of your blog.
Activity 5 - Culminating
Define the following term in the Glossary section of your blog
An Opinion Statement.
Similar to a situation in the workplace, you will be asked to convince your teacher about the validity of your opinion on an issue. For this reason, your presentation for this activity will take the form of a persuasive speech. Click on Persuasive speech to review the purpose of a persuasive presentation. Review the persuasive presentation definition you added to your glossary in activity 1 of this unit.
One of the first things you need to do in order to create a presentation is decide on an issue you find interesting. Secondly, discover how you feel about this issue and create a strong opinion statement.
Selecting an Issue
Please read over and select one of the issues listed below. Once you have selected an issue, select either should or should not in order to create an opinion statement. This sentence will now be the guiding purpose of your presentation.Example
Let's say you were presented with the statement, "fighting should/ should not be allowed in hockey" and you select "should not". This means that the purpose of your presentation will be to persuade an audience that fighting should not be allowed in hockey.
In order to help visualize the presentation, as you read these statements imagine that you were asked by a fellow worker to present your opinion on one of these situations to a manger.
Select should or should not for one of these statements.
Here are some possible workplace scenarios.
Writing Your Speech
Creating a successful speech is not about reading your notes in front of a group of people; it is about communicating a message to your audience. Remember, your purpose is to try and persuade others to agree with your point of view. Check back on activity 3 to review the three main components of a presentation. Here are some helpful points that will help you write the three parts of your speech; the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
The Introduction
You may have a great solution to a problem or you may be able to help resolve an important issue, but first you need to get the attention of the audience. The only way you will get others to listen to your opinion is grab their attention and then clearly state your message. This is the function of the introduction.
Here are some things to consider when creating an introduction for your speech:
Introduction
The Body of the Presentation
This is the part of your presentation where you use proof to actually persuade your audience. You should use different types of support to prove your point such as facts, opinions, and comparisons. It is essential that you organize all of your support points so that your presentation is clear and your audience is not confused. The body of your speech should have a least three support points. Here are some suggestions for writing the body of your presentation:
Body
The Conclusion
The conclusion is just as important as your introduction. The conclusion brings your persuasive speech to a close. This is where you restate your theme (in different words) and remind your audience of the purpose of your presentation. The conclusion ends the presentation in a way that prompts the audience to change their thinking or take a course of action. Here are some suggestions for writing a strong conclusion:
Conclusion
Assignment 10 - Developing your Opinion
We are now going to use a brainstorming technique to help you develop your ideas in order to support your opinion statement.Click on Brainstorming Technique in order to review the brainstorming process.
Please click on Brainstorming to Develop your Opinion. Complete the diagram and submit your work to your teacher.
Make sure you complete Part A, B and C of the assignment before you submit your work to your teacher. Keep a copy of the Brainstorming to Develop your Opinion assignment, as you will need this to complete your speech.
Assignment 11 - Creating an Outline for your Speech
Feel free to return to the content page to review terms. You may want to review type of support as you are writing the body of your speech. Click on Types of SupportPlease click on Creating an Outline for your Persuasive Speech .
Complete the outline and submit your work to your teacher. Keep a copy of the Persuasive Speech Outline assignment, as you will need this to write your speech. Don't forget to place name on every page you submit to your teacher.
Assignment 12 - Writing your Speech
Use your persuasive speech outline to write your speech in complete sentences. Return to the content page to review the tips for writing the speech. This is only the first draft of your speech so don't try to achieve perfection. The first draft is a great place to record all of your ideas without judgement. Don't worry about the details. Your goal here is to write quickly and creatively.Once you have completed writing the first draft of your speech, submit your draft to your teacher.
Assignment 13 - Proofreading your Speech
Once you have completed writing your speech, it is necessary to proofread your speech. The best way to proofread a speech is to have another person look at your work. The following discussion will help you with the proofreading process.Discussion
You will now have an opportunity to share your persuasive speech with another student in your class. Your teacher may place you in a group with one or more students before you begin the discussion. Have a look at the presentation(s) created by your fellow group member(s) and use the Characteristics of a Successful Presentation Checklist you created in activity 2 to make some helpful comments. In return, your group partner(s) will do the same for your presentation. You must make at least four constructive comments about your partner's speech.
After you have proof read each other's work, read the suggestions made by your peers and make any changes you feel will enhance and improve your speech.
Try This - Making Constructive Comments
Making comments about the work of a colleague or friend can be tricky. On the one hand, you don't want to make comments that are too negative as we can all be sensitive about our own work; yet it is important to give people honest feedback in order to help them improve. Therefore, it is important to make sure your comments are constructive and helpful to your partner. You may want to comment on similarities between the speeches; make some suggestions; ask some questions; and make sure you also proofread your partner's speech for any errors in grammar and spelling. Here are some comment starters to help you when making comments about another person's work. Try beginning your comments with:
Once your peers have proofread your speech, take a moment to review your speech and make any final changes you feel will enhance the speech. Don't forget to practise your speech and deliver the speech out loud in front of a mirror to ensure that this is the final speech you will submit.
Following the threaded discussion and the final check of your speech, submit a copy of your final speech to your teacher.
Make sure you also include a copy of the comments made by your partner(s) during the discussion. Keep a copy of your speech, as you will need this to complete the final assignment in this activity.
Assignment 14 - Delivering your Persuasive Speech
It is now time to deliver your speech in front of your classmate and teacher. But, before you present your speech, you must practice! Click on Practice to return to the content page of activity 3 in order to review tips on how to practice. When you feel you are ready and you have practised, present your persuasive speech to your class. Good luck!Assignment 15
METACOGNITIVE JOURNAL
In this unit, you have had the opportunity to not only learn about presentations, but also create your own presentation in the form of a persuasive speech. It is now time to reflect on your experience working through this unit by creating a Metacognitive Journal entry. Click on Metacognitive Journal to review what you discussed in Unit 1.Some of the following questions may help you with this writing:
Writing a Metacognitive Journal
Here are some tips for writing a reflective journal:In your Metacognitive journal reflect on your Reading, Writing, Viewing and Oral Communication experience. Here are some questions to help you create this journal entry:
Post the completed assignment in the Learning Journal section of your blog.